Month: June 2011

We had a county fair themed birthday party last weekend, for Monet’s 2nd birthday. Once again, I did a horrible job of photographing our decorations, but nonetheless, I’m still going to share.

Here was the invitation:

We provided the drinks; rum and Coke, lemonade, and tea. Along with that, we also had a fancy dog bar where we had a host of toppings for the nitrate free hot dogs, brawts, chicken sausages, and tofu dogs that we grilled.

Guests also brought sides, pies, and appetizers to enter in our “blue-ribbon” prize, county fair food competition. The winning items included a rhubarb-apple pie, homemade bread with homemade strawberry-rhubarb jam and hand-churned butter, and a variety of homemade pickles. The winners received a ribbon and a prize from our prize table. Prizes included: coke glasses (just like these on Etsy, but made by my hubby), chicken screen-printed t-shirts and little farm animals for the kids (idea from tip-Junkie), along with other random prizes.

I decorated the tables with simple burlap tablecloths, and I placed vases of flowers, picked from the garden, down the centers. Along with that, we placed candied almonds, salt water taffy, and freshly popped kettle corn on the tables.

Guests drank out of mason jars, and Coke glasses, like the ones I mentioned earlier.

The kids played in the yard, the sandbox, and played an adorable game of pin-the-tale-on-the-donkey. I hate that I didn’t get pictures of the game being played.

Here’s Monet and I, eating kettle corn, while resting our tired feet. A few guests even wore cowboy hats and boots, including Josh and I.

All in all, the party was a huge success, and fun was had by everyone.

I just finished a custom wall art piece for a client who recently got married. She had a lovely pink dress, and a destination wedding –what a dream! The wedding colors were turquoise and pink, and so I incorporated those into the scene. What do you think?

I think they are going to live happily ever after.

Handmade gifts are a part of the family traditions Josh and I are building. Ever since we have dated, handmade gifts have always been something we have made for each other. And now that our family has grown, handmade gifts continue to be a theme in our holiday and birthday celebrations.

Monet turns two in about a week, and Josh and I are spending our spare time getting ready for her County Fair themed birthday party, along with finishing up the handmade gifts we have made for her.

This year, for Monet’s birthday, I made her an interactive photo album of her birth. Since I’m currently pregnant, and the baby’s ultrasound is scheduled for the day before Monet’s birthday, I wanted to take this birthday as an opportunity to talk to her about her birth. Do you remember the Moda Bake Shop feature I had a few months back, where I wrote a tutorial on how to make a Fabric Photo Album? Well that’s the book I used for Monet’s gift. Here are a few pictures of the book:

The book is filled with photos and memorabilia that Monet can touch and play with.

The book also has slots for scrapbook pages and the last page of the book is one big vinyl envelop filled with cards, letters, and other precious items that Monet can pull out and look at. Each piece tells a story.

Josh finished making Monet a play kitchen for her bedroom. Can you believe how cute this is? Here are a few photos:

Oh, and did I ever show you the bike that Josh made for Monet a while back? Here are a few photos:

Monet loves this bike, and I can absolutely see why. I think she senses how special it is, since it was made for her. Soon we will be able to flip it over, to make it taller, and turn it into a two-wheel bike.

If you also want to make handmade, here are some past handmade gifts we have made that could inspire you:

About

The Artists’ House started one happy day when I married a boy who was an artist. I loved to create things and so side-by-side we created beautiful things together. One day I realized that I too was an artist, not just an artist’s wife, and so I started a design business of my own. Now I have two great loves, my family and my art. Read more ...

mailing list

Copyright

Please do not copy or take images or content from this site without my permission. If you would like to share with others information from this site, please link back to us and give us the credit. Thank you.